The Night Guest Audiobook By Hildur Knútsdóttir, Mary Robinette Kowal - translator cover art

The Night Guest

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The Night Guest

By: Hildur Knútsdóttir, Mary Robinette Kowal - translator
Narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal
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This program is read by author and narrator Mary Robinette Kowal, winner of the Hugo and Nebula awards.

Hildur Knútsdóttir's The Night Guest is an eerie and ensnaring story set in contemporary Reykjavík that’s sure to keep you awake at night.

Iðunn is in yet another doctor's office. She knows her constant fatigue is a sign that something's not right, but practitioners dismiss her symptoms and blood tests haven't revealed any cause.

When she talks to friends and family about it, the refrain is the same—have you tried eating better? exercising more? establishing a nighttime routine? She tries to follow their advice, buying everything from vitamins to sleeping pills to a step-counting watch. Nothing helps.

Until one night Iðunn falls asleep with the watch on, and wakes up to find she’s walked over 40,000 steps in the night . . .

What is happening when she’s asleep? Why is she waking up with increasingly disturbing injuries? And why won’t anyone believe her?

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor Nightfire.

©2024 Hildur Knutsdottir (P)2024 Macmillan Audio Horror World Literature Scary

Critic reviews

“Surreal and spectacular. . . . This is psychological horror at its finest.”—Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

"Like the flashes of a waking nightmare, Knútsdóttir’s artful spiral of terror will have fans of Ling Ma, Paula Hawkins, and other flawed female narrators demanding more."—Booklist

"From its opening pages, Hildur Knútsdóttir's eerie and elegant The Night Guest wraps its icy fingers around you and pulls you in. It's so atmospheric, so well-crafted, and so truly, deeply unsettling that by the end, you feel every bit as haunted as its sleepless heroine. If you're a horror fan—or just a fan of great writing in general—you need to have this one on your radar!"—Rachel Hawkins, New York Times bestselling author of The Wife Upstairs
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It was an interesting, entertaining and creepy read. The ending was ambiguous and thought provoking — however, I hate the trope of killing cats 👎🏻

Interesting & creepy

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Excellent writing to maintain tension. Keeps you wanting more. Wish it was longer and I could read more story in the life of the protagonist

Excellent writing to maintain tension

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it kept me listening and interested and then splash, it was just over. I rewound thinking I had skipped a chapter somehow. So much build up. This book is a pre-mature climaxer that let me unsatisfied.... but the build up was great.

kept me listening

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I was curious to see if a good story could really be told in 3 hrs and this one showed not always. The beginning was intriguing and pulls you in. But the ending was inconclusive and lacking in details.

Good writing, disappointing ending

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As other reviewers have noted, the ending is…well, it isn’t an ending at all. The book telegraphs its punches to a degree visible from space. From very, very early on, you know exactly where this is going. I was expecting a twist, some kink in the otherwise clear-as-glass story arc. The only twist was that there was no twist at all. Whatever you’re suspecting the ending is going to be around 25% of the way into the book, you’re right. That’s it. There’s no explanation, no deeper questioning, no attempt at meaning, and not even bothering to close all the plot loops.

This author clearly went to the Tana French School of Loose Ends, where they firmly believe that the best way to end a story is to give the reader absolutely no closure. It feels like the author was writing this for a timed exam, and when the teacher said, “Pencils down!”, she hurled hers across the room, got up, and walked out.

2 stars for being mildly entertaining up to the last 25%, and 1 more star for wasting less than 3 hours of my life. Would not read anything else by this author.

Fun until it wasn’t

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I loved the fast-paced nature of this book! The writing is beautiful and SO relatable. Each mysterious and chilling detail draws you more into the story. I feel a bit at a loss now that I have finished the book! I will never forget the line "The Patriarchy spoke with my mother's voice".

Enthralling, Creepy, Poignant

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Loved the whole thing until we “find out what’s been happening,” which is in quotes because we really, really, do not. I’m used to ambiguity when it comes to horror novel endings, and maybe it’s because this is a short story, which are typically even *more* ambiguous… but COME ON! We could’ve been given SOME explanation of what is actually going on here ay yiy yiy! So the ending & somewhere between I’d guess the 75-80% mark made up the 3% of the book that I strongly disliked… come onnn the ending was just a waste of the SHEER POTENTIAL of this short story as far as I’m concerned… I feel like horror screenwriters would enjoy this book because of the ambiguity, though! lol. Hopefully someone out there gets the reference :-P BUT THE REST WAS SOSOSO GOOD & had me GLUED which I can’t ignore! Except ugh part of the 3% I didn’t like had to do with cat deaths, so if you’re sensitive to that sort of thing, I’d be very, very careful if you choose to read this (which I am, but I went in knowing this & that if it was really intense I could walk away, but I made it through that part & it’s definitely nothing compared to some of the horror books I’ve read!); Thankfully it’s not just the main plot, but the details as well that are ambiguous lol…. Read at your own risk & don’t be afraid to walk away if it does happen to be a very serious trigger for you or it is just not something you can manage to read about! No worries— it’s valid & nothing to be ashamed of!

GREAT CONCEPT & has a lot of creepiness, lots of tension !!! Also is a very quick listen!

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I really liked the audiobook performance. It was a short and creepy story. I glad I listened to this story as an audiobook book for the Icelandic names and words.

Creepy and Disorienting

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A thrilling novella where our protagonist discovers and starts fighting mysterious things that are happening to her.
I kept reading it until I finished it in a day, I enjoyed the unusual structure of the story. I wouldn't say that I'm a regular horror fan but this story hit me just right with a terrifying plot but not graphic violence or gore. CW: animals are killed off page.
Brilliant for spooky season.

The perfect read for a long train ride

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As another reviewer said, you can see where this is heading the minute we’re introduced to a plot point involving a death in her past. I’m half way through (1.5 hrs) and I.cant.make.myself.continue. I’m half way through, and without continuing, I know exactly how it ends. I very rarely DNF books, but I am rolling my eyes so frequently that instead of helping me relax I realize my frustration is mounting each minute, I can do it. Regret purchasing instead of using a credit, because now I can’t get my time or money back.

I gave it three stars only because I felt guilty giving two.

Additionally, narrator has odd diction, and the main character is unlikable. It all amounted to too much distraction that could have been overcome had the writing not been so predictable.

Save your dollars

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